South Africa’s Shaun Norris claimed his second DP World Tour title with his victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in December 2024, and he has carried the momentum of that win into a strong start in 2025.
Question: You started the year with finishes of sixth and 16th in back-to-back DP World Tour events in the UAE, and it’s carried you into fourth place on the Race to Dubai. What is working so well for you at the moment?
Shaun Norris: I’ve just been swinging the club very well for a while now. I also think the big thing is that my brother, who is my caddie, and I are just having such fun on the course and enjoying every moment. But I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year.
You’ve had some time to reflect on your Alfred Dunhill Championship victory. What did that win mean to you?
I had a great vacation with my family and it was good to let that victory just sink in. It really was great to win such an awesome tournament. It meant so much to me and my family, and it will give me so many more playing opportunities throughout the next few years.
How much of a role did that victory play in terms of your focus for 2025 and the form you’re in at the moment?
I had been playing such good golf all year long in Japan and was very consistent. So when we got back to South Africa for the Alfred Dunhill Championship, I just said to myself to carry on with the same things I’ve been doing all year. But I think it all comes down to me being in a really good space at the moment, and I just want to keep that going.
Is winning at Leopard Creek one of those goals you feel that, as a South African professional, you want to tick off?
Definitely. It’s a tournament all South Africans want to win, and a golf course where you also want to say you have won. The next one on my list would be the Investec South African Open.
What are your goals for 2025?
I want to keep doing exactly what I did last year. I just want to stick to my routines, and then have fun out on the golf course. I think I’ve found what works for me. I tried doing things the way other people do it and it never really helped me. I was always uncomfortable. So I started doing the things that I wanted to do, and that made me happy.
Having played in both the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and Alfred Dunhill Championship, what do you feel these two tournaments bring to world golf, especially considering that this is Alfred Dunhill’s 40th year of supporting golf through first the Alfred Dunhill Cup and now the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship?
Alfred Dunhill does so much for golf, and especially South African golf. There is so much that comes back into South African golf through their support, from the development of the game to the development of our top amateurs and then into the professional game. As players we’re all grateful to be able to play in such great tournaments and compete against some of the best in the world on the most spectacular courses in the game.
